Patient Groups and the Construction of the Patient-Consumer in Britain: An Historical Overview

Abstract

This article presents an historical overview of the changing meaning of the patient-consumer, and specifically the role played by patient groups in constructing the patient as consumer. It is argued that patient groups were central to the formation of the patient-consumer, but as health consumerism was taken on by the state, they lost control of this figure. Competing understandings of what it meant to be a patient-consumer developed, a shift that raises further questions about the unity of claims made in the name of the patient-consumer.

Performing accountability in health research: A socio-spatial framework

“…For Merry (2001:20), in spatial governmentality "the individual invested with rights is replaced by the individual who defines himself or herself by consumption". In the context of health research, these developments can be located within a shift to a consumerist framework where patients are increasingly thought of as customers and expected to reveal their preferences through choice (Mold, 2010;Fotaki, 2006), thus influencing research priorities.…”

The voluntary sector and health policy: The role of national level health consumer and patients' organisations in the UK

“…Others, however, (see, Williamson, 1992) argue that 'consumer' captures an active form of citizenship and is capable of representing a broader constituency of interest, not merely the narrow realm of individual customer preferences and choices. As Mold (2010) notes, 'consumer' has been interpreted in different ways and this has shaped the discourse around public service reform (see also Clarke et al, 2007;O'Hara, 2013). There has also been debate about the appropriateness of the term 'patient'.…”

Person-centered medicine at the intersection of East and West

“…Out of this emerged a discourse of patients' rights. Over time, this discourse has narrowed to become largely focused on the rights of patients as individual consumers of medical care [21]. Intended to be active and empowering, a corrective to the passive patient of an earlier time, the consumer image emphasizes the patient as decision-maker at the expense of other key characteristics and needs of patients, for example, frailty, pain and the need to be assisted and cared for.…”